November 20, 2005

bo bike

i got to try another child carrier out this weekend and it was by far the best. It is called Bo-Bike and mounts around the outside of the steerer tube on a threadless headset and the quill on a threaded headset. So Sol got to ride up front in his baby banz(they are ray banz for kids for those none the wiser, his grandma bought them, he chose red) and bee themed helmet on a ride through centennial park, down to bronte around to bondi and home again.
Having the child seat in front but up high does not affect the steering all that much, Sol's body does keep on moving a little bit after i have turned the handlebars but he seemed to like headbutting my arms. There is something a little bit more fun about the bo bike over a trailer or rear mounteed childseat, it doesn't have the extra storage of a trailer which is gold when shopping but when you just want to for a ride they are easy to mount, easy to take and simple to strap a child into. You don't have to turn around to check on them, they can ring the bell to let pedestrians know we are coming and they can yelp with you in delight when you fly down a hill as they can see everything that you can.

The framebuilding is slowly progressing, at tafe i have taken in some off-cuts that i mitred to practice tig welding thin-wall steel. I was seriously worried that this would turn me off framebuilding as i realised i sucked at welding and didn't have the patience. Fortunately, my teacher guided my through my amperage setting, i had it way to high, told me where to hlod the torch as i had the arc way too far away from the metal and was cooking the steel. He gave me a demo and put me to shame but i had an idea then of what to do.
The frame i am building is coming along, filing, filing and more filing, the romantic images of me as an artisan framebuilder have been eradicated and i now realise it is just more work with my hands. I think i am motivated enough to get my hand skills where i want them, it will probably take quite a few years.

I have been thinking about what models i would like to make in the next two to three years as i learn how to build frames. I think a women's low step though sleek looking internal hub bike would be sweet as well as a roadster style bike with internal hub, 3 or 5 five speed, rear rack, front basket, mudguards, hub dynamo light set up. A durable, well designed commuter that is unique and handbuilt. I people have ideas for bikes for transport that they would like to see in production let me know, i don't mean to steal your ideas, this framebuilding is very much in its infancy but so i have an idea of what people want that would be cool.

Could you provide a comment on an article I saw in the Sydney Morning Herald Opinion section by Michael Duffy titled “Off yer Bike for the sake of all of us on the roads” in the 3rd of December issue. He claims that cycling on innercity roads is clogging traffic and increasing pollution. I will be writing to the editor on this issue but given I do not reside in Sydney. I think someone needs to point out how muddle headed the arguments in the article are and this will need a Sydney siders view as opposed to a Novocastrian’s